QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Ponce, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponce in the 24 hours to 1:01 am AST (05:01 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) WSW, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ponce

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 33 km (20 mi) northwest of Ponce, PR, at 4:29 am AST on 9 November 2018 (08:29 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

34 km (21 mi) NW of Ponce, PR · 30 km (19 mi) SSW of Arecibo, PR

4:29 am AST, Nov 9, 2018 · · 10 km deep · released about 31 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ponce Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lares Municipio 8 kmMaricao Municipio 10 kmAdjuntas Municipio 10 kmLas Marías Municipio 13 kmYauco Municipio 14 kmSabana Grande Municipio 17 kmUtuado Municipio 17 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 18 kmSan Germán Municipio 23 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
4:29 am AST on 9 November 2018 ()
Where
33 km (20 mi) northwest of Ponce, PR · earthquakes near Ponce
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lares Municipio, 8 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2925 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponce, 33 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Likely felt in: Lares 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

Where

Epicentre 18.2091, -66.8521. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lares Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WSW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) ESE earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) S earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) SW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.4 15 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 7 km WNW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 7 km SSW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 5 km SSW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 19 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 2 km NE of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 15 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.5 2 km NNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 1 km NNW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.7 5 km WSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 11 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 8 km SW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 10 km N of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 9 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 7 km E of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

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